James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson, poet, song-writer, civil rights leader, diplomat, English professor, a great leader of the Harlem Renaissance—a man endowed with a whole range of talents—was born on June 17, 1871 to James

Lift Every Voice and Sing

by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938)

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16

Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun

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